The conference tournament hopes of the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team took another hit Friday night.
On the road against last place Colorado Christian University, the Skyhawks fell 92-87 to drop to 13-9 overall and 7-9 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. That is currently two games behind the all-important eighth spot for the eight-team conference tournament. FLC will play four of its final six games on the road, with four of those against teams ahead of it in the standings.
It was the third consecutive loss for the Skyhawks and their first in the last 10 games against the Cougars.
“To give up 90 points in three games in a row, we’re making our own bed and lying in it,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said. “We have to guard better at this level. If you don’t, you’re going to have poor nights.
“We aren’t even looking at the schedule. We are focused on playing the best we can the next time out. We are where we’re at, and there’s not much to say about it. If we’re not going to hold teams to under 90 points, we have no chance to win. Our defense has been poor, and we have to do better.”
Once again, FLC’s opponent shot a high percentage, as Colorado Christian (3-19, 3-13 RMAC) made 58.6% of its shots from the field and 9-of-14 from 3-point range. FLC gave up too many uncontested layups, especially early in the first half when the Cougars raced out to a 28-11 lead.
The Skyhawks would get within 45-40 at halftime thanks to the scoring of Riley Farris, who had 22 first-half points as part of his game-high 31 points to go with eight rebounds. But Colorado Christian also forced the elite scorer into four turnovers.
“Farris has been outstanding,” Pietrack said. “The problem isn’t offense at all.”
FLC went down by double digits several times in the second half, often when Farris was on the bench for a breather, but the Skyhawks got within 86-83 with two minutes to play. Senior guard Danny Garrick tried to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but it rimmed out, and Colorado Christian’s Spencer Hoffman got a layup going the other way to make it 88-83 with 1:46 to play.
A late 3 from Logan Hokanson got the Skyhawks within four again at 90-86 with 30 seconds to play, but CCU made enough free throws down the stretch to collect the victory.
Collin Huun was red-hot for the Cougars in the first half, as he made his first seven shots from the field including four 3s. He finished with a team-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting that included 5-of-7 from 3.
Hoffman added 14 points and five rebounds in only 18 minutes of action, as he shot 6-of-10. Luke Martin gave FLC problems off the bench, as he had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Justin Engesser made 5-of-7 shots to score 13 points, for a CCU team that had six players score in double figures.
“We didn’t make them feel uncomfortable enough,” Pietrack said. “They got in a rhythm and played well and made their shots. We picked up the energy, but when you put yourself in a hole like that, it’s tough to climb out.”
Hokanson finished with 13 points and five assists without a turnover for FLC. Akuel Kot, on his 19th birthday, had 11 points and four rebounds for FLC. Will Wittman finished with eight points.
FLC will stay on the road for a tough matchup at 5 p.m. Saturday at Regis (13-9, 8-8 RMAC).
We are going to have to play really hard,” Pietrack said. “We play for the love of the game and the love of the program and school. We love each other. It has nothing to do with our record at this point. We play because we are competitors. That’s what matters. We will dig deep.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
